Nash County is a

county A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesChambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

located in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sove ...

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...

. As of the 2020 census, the population was 94,970. Its

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term shire town is used in the US st ...

Nashville Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and the ...

. Nash County is now a part of the Rocky Mount, NC

Metropolitan Statistical Area In the United States, a metropolitan statistical area (MSA) is a geographical region with a relatively high population density at its core and close economic ties throughout the area. Such regions are neither legally Incorporated town, incorporate ...

, instead of the

Raleigh Raleigh (; ) is the capital city of the state of North Carolina and the seat of Wake County in the United States. It is the second-most populous city in North Carolina, after Charlotte. Raleigh is the tenth-most populous city in the Southeas ...

, NC

History

Nash County was formed in 1777 from

Edgecombe County Edgecombe County is a county located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2020 census, the population was 48,900. Its county seat is Tarboro. Edgecombe County is part of the Rocky Mount, North Carolina, Metropolitan Statistical Area ...

. It was named for

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

Brigadier General

Francis Nash Francis Nash (October 7, 1777) was a brigadier general in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. Prior to the war, he was a lawyer, public official, and politician in Hillsborough, North Carolina, and was heavily involved ...

, who was mortally wounded at the Battle of Germantown that year. In 1855, parts of Nash, Edgecombe, Johnston, and Wayne Counties were combined to form

Wilson County Wilson County is the name of four counties in the United States: *Wilson County, Kansas *Wilson County, North Carolina *Wilson County, Tennessee *Wilson County, Texas Wilson County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 202 ...

Geography

According to the

U.S. Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of the ...

, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (0.4%) is covered by water.

State and local protected areas

* Flower Hill Nature Preserve (part) * Sandy Creek Public Game Land

Major water bodies

* Fishing Creek * Moccasin Creek * Pig Basket Creek * Sapony Creek * Stony Creek * Swift Creek *

Tar River The Tar River is a river that is approximately long, in northeast North Carolina flowing generally southeast to an estuary of Pamlico Sound. The Tar River becomes the tidal Pamlico River once it underpasses the U.S. Highway 17 Bridge in Wash ...

* Tar River Reservoir * Toisnot Swamp * Turkey Creek

Adjacent counties

* Franklin County - west * Johnston County - southwest *

Wake County Wake County is located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. In the 2020 census, its population was 1,129,410, making it North Carolina's most-populous county. From July 2005 to July 2006, Wake County was the 9th-fastest growing county in the U ...

- southwest *

- south *

- east * Halifax County - northeast *

Warren County Warren County is the name of fourteen counties in the USA. Some are named after General Joseph Warren, who was killed in the Battle of Bunker Hill in the American Revolutionary War: * Warren County, Georgia * Warren County, Illinois * Warren County ...

- north

Major highways

* (Concurrency with US 64) * * * * * (Nashville) * (Rocky Mount) * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Major infrastructure

CSX Intermodal Terminal CSX Transportation , known colloquially as simply CSX, is a Class I freight railroad operating in the Eastern United States and the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. The railroad operates approximately 21,000 route miles () of track. ...

, Shared between

* Rocky Mount-Wilson Regional Airport

Demographics

2020 census

As of the

2020 United States census The United States census of 2020 was the twenty-fourth decennial United States census. Census Day, the reference day used for the census, was April 1, 2020. Other than a pilot study during the 2000 census, this was the first U.S. census to of ...

, there were 94,970 people, 37,574 households, and 27,002 families residing in the county.

2000 census

As of the

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses incl ...

of 2000, 87,420 people, 33,644 households, and 23,920 families resided in the county. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical term.Matt RosenberPopul ...

was 162 people per square mile (62/km²). The 37,051 housing units averaged 69 per square mile (26/km²). The

racial makeup A race is a categorization of humans based on shared physical or social qualities into groups generally viewed as distinct within a given society. The term came into common usage during the 1500s, when it was used to refer to groups of variou ...

of the county was 61.94% White, 33.93% Black or African American, 0.45% Native American, 0.57% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 2.06% from other races, and 1.02% from two or more races. About 3.36% of the population was Hispanic or Latino of any race. Of the 33,644 households, 32.70% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.70% were married couples living together, 14.50% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.90% were not families. About 25% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.60% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.54 and the average family size was 3.02. In the county, the population was distributed as 25.40% under the age of 18, 8.50% from 18 to 24, 30.10% from 25 to 44, 23.50% from 45 to 64, and 12.40% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females, there were 92.70 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.10 males. The median income for a household in the county was $37,147, and for a family was $44,769. Males had a median income of $32,459 versus $24,438 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population. Per capita i ...

for the county was $18,863. About 10.30% of families and 13.40% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for t ...

, including 17.80% of those under age 18 and 15.20% of those age 65 or over.

Government and politics

Nash County was originally a typically overwhelmingly Democratic "

Solid South The Solid South or Southern bloc was the electoral voting bloc of the states of the Southern United States for issues that were regarded as particularly important to the interests of Democrats in those states. The Southern bloc existed especial ...

" county with a large and completely disfranchised black population. Although it gave a plurality to

Populist Populism refers to a range of political stances that emphasize the idea of "the people" and often juxtapose this group against " the elite". It is frequently associated with anti-establishment and anti-political sentiment. The term develop ...

candidate James B. Weaver in 1892, unlike Sampson County or Alabama's Chilton County it did not subsequently turn to the Republican Party. Nash County would vote Democratic in every election from 1896 to 1964 – in

Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...

and

Harry S. Truman Harry S. Truman (May 8, 1884December 26, 1972) was the 33rd president of the United States, serving from 1945 to 1953. A leader of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the 34th vice president from January to April 1945 under Franklin ...

's five elections the Republicans never received eleven percent of the county's limited electorate's ballots – before supporting George Wallace's American Independent candidacy in 1968, and voting Republican for the first time in 1972. After turning like most Wallace counties to Southern Democrat

Jimmy Carter James Earl Carter Jr. (born October 1, 1924) is an American politician who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he previously served as th ...

in 1976, Nash would later swing Republican from 1980 to 2004 before turning into one of the nation's most closely contested counties in the past four elections, with the margin of victory being less than 1,000 votes in every election since. Nash County is a member of the regional Upper Coastal Plain Council of Governments.

Sheriff

The Sheriff's Office provides police services for the unincorporated areas of the county.

Communities

Cities

* Rocky Mount (largest city, parts located in Edgecombe County) *

(county seat)

Towns

* Bailey *

Castalia Castalia ( grc, Κασταλία), in Greek mythology, was a naiad-nymph, a daughter of Achelous who inhabited the Castalian spring in Delphi. In older traditions, Castalian spring already existed by the time Apollo came to Delphi searching f ...

* Dortches *

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, historic county in South East England, southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the Ceremonial counties of ...

* Momeyer *

Red Oak The genus Oak, ''Quercus'' contains about 500 species, some of which are listed here. The genus, as is the case with many List of the largest genera of flowering plants, large genera, is Taxonomic rank#Ranks in botany, divided into subgenus, subgen ...

* Spring Hope * Sharpsburg (part) * Whitakers (part) *

Zebulon Zebulun (; also ''Zebulon'', ''Zabulon'', or ''Zaboules'') was, according to the Books of Book of Genesis, Genesis and Book of Numbers, Numbers,Genesis 46:14 the last of the six sons of Jacob and Leah (Jacob's tenth son), and the founder of the ...

(part)

Census-designated place

Corinth Corinth ( ; el, Κόρινθος, Kórinthos, ) is the successor to an ancient city, and is a former municipality in Corinthia, Peloponnese, which is located in south-central Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform, it has been part o ...

Townships

* Bailey * Battleboro * Castalia * Coopers * Dry Wells * Ferrells * Griffins * Jackson * Mannings * Nashville * North Whitakers * Oak Level * Red Oak * Rocky Mount * Spring Hope * South Whitakers * Stony Creek

References

External links

Nash County government official website
*
NCGenWeb Nash County
- free genealogy resources for the county {{Authority control Rocky Mount metropolitan area 1777 establishments in North Carolina Populated places established in 1777 Majority-minority counties in North Carolina